'Hardball' Hits Sen. Bernie Sanders From Left On Gun-Rights Issues

Ken Shepherd
October 5th, 2015 9:23 PM
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On his Monday edition of Hardball, MSNBC host Chris Matthews, along with panelists Eugene Robinson, Howard Fineman, and Joan Walsh hit socialist Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vt.) from the left for his voting record on gun rights, particularly a 2005 bill that granted civil immunity from gun manufacturers. At one point, Matthews oddly compared Sanders to the late liberal-but-segregationist Sen. William Fulbright (D-Ark.), suggesting his vote on the immunity bill was unforgivable in the same vein Fulbright's defense of Jim Crow was.

Later in the conversation, Matthew counseled that when it comes to Sanders's voting record on gun rights, she really need to "Deck him!"

The remarks were made in a segment looking at Hillary Clinton's campaigning today in New Hampshire on freshly-unveiled gun-control plan that includes repealing the 2005 law in question.

Here's the relevant transcript (emphasis mine):

MSNBC
Hardball
October 5, 2015

CHRIS MATTHEWS, host: Well, Hillary Clinton didn't stop there. Her proposals stand in contrast with her Democratic rival Bernie Sanders. She wants to repeal a special NRA-backed legal immunity that Congress gave gun manufacturers and dealers back in 2005. In that case, Bernie Sanders voted for that legislation protecting the manufacturers from liability, and Hillary Clinton voted against it. Joan, what do you make of this? I mean, I don't think that's an accident that they singled out, they went out and discovered through a little work, a bill where she was pro gun control and he wasn't.

JOAN WALSH, The Nation: Well, I don't know, Chris, about that. It's such an obvious contrast. I wrote about this for the nation today and I had folks on Twitter say, oh, you know, she's come up with this issue to hit Bernie.

MATTHEWS: What's wrong with that?

WALSH Actually, there's nothing wrong with that. That is politics. But I would also add this is not something that some oppo research had to find. This was the NRA's top priority in 2005, when they were pushing this immunity bill. Then-Congressman Sanders voted for it, then-Senator Clinton voted against it. This is something she feels passionately about. And it's something that the gun control folks--

MATTHEWS: Right. And he's wrong on.

WALSH: --also feel passionately about.

MATTHEWS: And Bernie's wrong on. And Bernie is wrong.

WALSH: He is wrong about it. And, you know, he's being very Bernie about this. He's really kind of dug his heels in. He's very proud of the fact that he's been elected from a state with a lot of gun owners. And he says that's the kind of politics he wants to bring to the country. But he has not, I don't think he's fully reckoned with what we've seen happen this summer and fall in Roanoke and Charleston and now in Roseburg. And I think he has perhaps got to change his lens on this gun issue because people are dying.

MATTHEWS: Yeah, let's try to recall some great senators that represent the deep south in the early '60s and what great men they were. J. William Fulbright represented Arkansas and defended Jim Crow down the line. And we didn't forgive him!

HOWARD FINEMAN, Huffington Post:  Here's the other possible benefit here just in terms of hardball politics. I've covered Bernie Sanders a long time. I was one of the first people to interview him about his presidential aspirations. He doesn't like to be poked particularly, if you know him. Also his supporters were furious. I said something --

MATTHEWS: I hear it. I hear it.

FINEMAN: I said something on this show last week about how he doesn't have a perfect record on the NRA. Wham!

MATTHEWS: OK, well, people who Twitter him, or follow him as Twitterers should remember one fact. Running for president, becoming a candidate for president, is not the first step towards canonization. You are not going away into the innocent world. You are going into real politics. And that involves getting hit. You are going to get hit.

EUGENE ROBINSON, Washington Post: And you have a record. People are going to look at your record. And, you know, if there are things in there that people disagree with, they're going to call you on it.

MATTHEWS: And, by the way, having been young once and believed in politicians completely, what you discover over life, my younger friends who love politics and who care about this country, you will discover imperfection grows in everybody you adore. Imperfection. It just does.

FINEMAN: I'm saying in the cut and thrust, Hillary has been on the defensive for months. Bernie's been getting glowing coverage the entire time. If I were Hillary and her camp, drive it at --

MATTHEWS: Deck him!

FINEMAN: -- drive it at him. Why not?

On a closing side not, it is a little funny seeing Matthews condescend to Sanders enthusiasts for their naiveté when Matthews has repeatedly gushed about how "perfect" Barack Obama is.